Des has spent his career working across the media industry in radio, television and entertainment. He runs an award-winning production company ‘The Content Works’ and presents a weekly soul music show for Greatest Hits Radio across the UK. Des grew up in South West London working on community radio in the 90’s before getting his big break at Power FM on the South Coast. This led to over 10 years with Capital & Global, hosting several shows across their brands, heading up the music team at Choice FM (now Capital Xtra) and now creating content for their brand sales team. Des then led the music programming team at MTV Networks UK & Ireland before joining Ministry of Sound to run their radio and television brands, revamping Ministry of Sound Radio and launching the Dance Nation music television channel. It was during this time that Des took the iconic Ministry of Sound and Hed Kandi dance music brands from London to dancefloors all over the world as a global resident DJ. Following a brand partnership with Nissan and Ministry, Des started The Content Works in 2012, and now produces video, podcast and radio content for brands and corporate clients such as Burberry, winning industry awards along the way. Des currently produces and presents 'Rhythm of the Night - the soul, funk and disco show for Greatest Hits Radio along with regular programmes for Magic Soul. He's also a mentor for Media for All, an organisation dedicated to improving diversity and opportunity in the media industry. He is also one of the judges for the ARIAS – the UK’s audio industry awards and a judge for the Student Radio Awards.
The music on your radio station is everything! With an endless supply of alternative choices for listeners, getting it ‘just right’ is essential. From agreeing on the correct strategy, all the way through to scheduling the first song on the Morning Show each day, there are a lot of different things to consider! This session will guide you through the complicated world of music programming and address some of the big topics. How do you make changes to your format without losing listeners? What can you do to stop your older songs from burning? Can you break the pattern of predictability that some formats have? And how much of a role should music research actually play? Our team of experts will share the secrets of how they tackle the challenge of creating exciting radio formats and playlists, giving you plenty of tips and tricks to try out for yourselves in this, ‘The Ultimate Guide to Music Programming’!